Vibrating amalgamator



Aug. 18, 1925.

s. A. KNOWLES VIBRATING AMALGAMATOR 2 Sheets- 5M 1 Find July 28 1924 Aug. 18, 1925.

' S. A. KNOWLES VIBRATING AMALGAMATQR Filed July 28. 1924 ZShots-Sh'ut 2 Patented Aug. 18, 1925.

SILA'S A. KNOWLES, 01? DENVER, COLORADO.

VIBRA'ITNG AMALGAMATOR.

Ap lication filed July 28, 1924. Serial No. 728,672.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, SILAS A. KNOWLES, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at the city and county of Denver, and State of Colorado, have invented a new and useful Vibrating Amalgamator, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an automatically operating screen-sizing gold and other metal mercury amalgamating and vibrating ma chine.

The primary object of the invention is to provide mechanism whereby screened ore pulp is continuously supplied to the first of a series of connected amalgamating troughs which are arranged in stepped order, means being provided for imparting a longitudinal vibratory movement to said troughs.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple and practical device for the recovery of gold, wherein a plurality of troughs are arranged in stepped order, the bottom of each trough having an upward inclination to the point where it discharges into the succeeding trough, said troughs being partially filled with mercury, and being given a longitudinal vibratory motion; the first trough of the series being continuously supplied with screened ore pulp.

I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a view of the improved machine partly in side elevation and partly in section.

Figure 2 is a plan View of the same.

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view enlargedfon the line 3 -3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4c is a transverse sectional View through one side of the vibratory frame of the machine, on the line t-l of Figure 1;

Fig. 5 is. a sectional view through the rear end portion of one of the side frames showing a portion of the cylindrical pocket and the outlet pipe leading therefrom.

Figure 6 is a horizontal sectional view through the inlet end portion of the rotary screen; and

Figure 7 is a similar view through the opposite or discharge end of the screen.

Referring to the accompanying drawings:

The numeral 1 designates parallel foundation timbers upon which the improved machine is mounted. Upon one end of this foundation are bolted standards 2, provided with bearings 3 on their upper ends, in

the blades 1land which is mounted the shaft 4 of a rotary screen 5.

This screen is cylindrical in form, and comprises the screen element proper, which may be of any preferred character, and which is secured upon rings or bands 6 which are connected by spokes with hubs 7, which are secured upon the shaft 4c. The receiving end of the screen is closed by a head plate 8, having a circular opening 9,

through which enters the-discharge end of a hopper 10. The opposite end of the screen is provided with an imperforate conical discharging member 11, having an outlet opening 12; and the inner face of this discharging member has secured thereon a spiral conveyor 13, which is adapted to receive the oversize product from the screen and discharge the same through the opening 12. Around the outside of the screen are disposed a plurality of radially projecting longitudinal blades 1a, which are secured to the end members of the screen and to the hoops 6. The lower portion of the screen lies within a tank 15, the bottom of which is concentric with the axis of the screen, and only a slight distance from the edges of the blades 1 and this tank is adapted to be filled with water to a depth corresponding to the margin of the outlet openings 12. The screen is adapted to receive finely pulverized ore and water from the hopper 10, andthe small particles of ore pass through the screen and settle to the bottom of the tank and are carried up by discharged over the edge of the tank and into the first unit of an improved vibratory amalgamating machine, to be presently described, while the oversize enters the spiral conveyor 13, as above stated, and discharges through the opening 12 and into a chute 16, which conveys it away from the machine.

The improved vibratory amalgamator comprises parallel side bars A, which support between them the amalgamating units, and which extend at a downward inclination from a point adjacent that side of the tank 15 from which the ore pulp is discharged by the blades 14 of the screen.

Eachside bar is made up of an outside metal member 17, preferably of channel bar form, and an inside member 18, in the form of a board, which boards are of the same length and width as the channel bars 17. Between the boards 18 are clamped the iii) ioo

iii

amalgamating units or troughs 19, 20, 21 and 22, which are all formed of a single sheet metal plate, and are arranged and constructed as follows: The first trough 19 receives the screened product from the tank 15, and is formed by bending the sheet metal to provide an inclined end wall 28 and a bottom Ql, which inclines upwardly from the end wall 23 to the point where the second trough begins, the inclination being such that when the maximum water level in this trough is reached, the greatest depth of the water is approximately one inch, and this depth gradually diminishes to the point where the bottom of the first trough merges into the rear end of the second trough. From the forward termination of the bot tom 2%, the metal is bent over in semicircular form to provide the step-like end wall of the next trough 20, the curve of this end wall beng in a forward direction and having a, radius of approximately two inches. From the end wall 25, the metal is bent to form the bottom 26 of the second trough 20, and this bottom has an upward inclination to the point where it merges into the end wall 27 of the third trough, which point is on the same horizontal plane as the axis of the end wall 25. vVhen the water level in this trough reaches the highest point, its greatest depth is therefore two inches, and this depth gradually diminishes to the point where the said bottom 26 terminates.

The third trough 21 is a duplicate of the second trough 20, but its bottom 28 terminates in a rear'ard'ly curved semicircular end wall. 29, which merges into the inclined bottom 30 of the fourth trough 22, the discharge end of the bottom 30 being on the same plane as the axis of the end wall 29.

Like the second and third troughs, the water level in this fourth trough is such that its greatest depth is two inches, and the bottom 30 terminates in a substantially cylindrical pocket 31, the metal forming this pocket being bent around in circular form until it nearly meets the terminal edge of the bottom 30, thus leaving a longitudinal gap or slot in the topmost part of the pocket, from which point the metal is extended to form a narrow, flat, horizontal portion which terminates with the rear ends of the inclined side bars A.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with Figure 1 of the drawings, it will be seen that each amalgamating trough is on a slightly lower plane than the preceding trough, whereby screened ore and water which is continuously supplied to the first trough, overflows into the second trough, and from the second into the third, and so on to the pocket The pocket is provided with an outlet pipe 34, which is inserted in a hole in one of the side bars A and enters the pocket a short distance above its lowest point.

The outer portion of the pipe is inclined upwardly to the level of the top of the pocket, and then, is given a short rearward bend which terminates in a short downwardly projecting discharge end.

AS shown in Figure 1, the end walls and 27 are bent around pipes 36 and 37, respectively, which not only support the troughs, but also define the space between the side b A tie rod 38 passes throu 'h the pipe and through the side bars A, and a tie rod ll through the side bars A adjoini k, the pocket 31, and the end portions of these rods are supported in the rolled upper ends of resilient standards 42 and -f3, rpectively, the lo ends of which a e bolted to tl foundation timbers 1-, and short sleeves 14: are placed on the rods and all, between the rolled ends of the standards 4:2 and 3, and the channel bars 17, and the outer ends of the r c are tln-eaded and receive nut A tie rod 39 passes through the pipe and through the side bars and a tie rod ll) passes through the rear end of the trough and their outer ends receive nuts which are screwed against the channels 17, and when all of the nuts 45 and 46 are tightened, the edges of the troughs, well as the ends of the pipes 2-36 and 3-37, are embedded in the boards 18, thus making a water-tight connection between the boards 18 and the ends of the troughs.

A short distance beyond the discharge ends of the troughs 19, 20 and 21, are located curved bal'lle plates 17, each of which is secured to a transverse bar 18, the ends of which are secured to the rear ends of spring arms 49, the forward ends of which are bolted to the channel member 17 of the side bars A. ll hen the bars rest upon the side bars l, the lower edges of the baffle plates are a short distance abore the bottoms of the troughs, but this distance can be increased in the following manner: The spring arms 49 tend to lift the bars 18 with the battle plates 17, but the said s1 ring arms are held under tension by thumb nuts 50, wh'ch are screwed upon the threaded studs 51, which are mounted in the channel bars 17 and en 'llCl through openings in the said spring arms Thus, by releasing the pressure on the spring arms, the position of the ballle plates with respect to the bottoms of the troughs may be varied.

The amalgan'iating device is given a longitudinal vibratory motion in the following manner:

The side bars A are connected on their under sides, and near their forward ends, by a cross bar 52, preferably a channel bar, and this channel bar is adapted to be engaged by cams 53 which are rigidly mounted on a shaft 5 1, the ends of which are mounted in standards 55, which are secured upon the foundation timbers 1.

One end of the shaft 54 is provided with a pulley 56 which is connected by a belt 57 with a pulley 58 on the screen supporting shaft l, the pulley 58 being about four times the diameter of the pulley 56, so that one rotation of the screen operating pulley 58 will produce tour rotations of the shaft 54 carrying the cams 53, whereby the engagement 01" the said cams with the bar 52 imparts a rapid vibratory movement to the amalgamating troughs.

The first trough 24 receives the line material mixed with water which is discharged therein by the rotary screen, and this trough may or may not be partially filled with mercury, but the succeeding troughs are filled to one-half their water level, with mercury, as shown at 59.

The baffles d7, together with the curved rear ends of the troughs, cause a swirling action of the ore bulp which forces it into contact with the surface of the mercury 59, and the vibratory motion imparted to the troughs prevents an accumulation or the black sand on the surface of the mercury, thus permitting the surface of the mercury to come in contact with or receive the particles of gold as the pulp flows from trough to trough,

The pocket 31 at the end of the last trough 30 receives the black sand or tailings product from the last trough, and this product, which set-ties to the bottom of the pocket, discharges through the outlet pipe while any line material is carried over the end portion 33 extending from the said pocket, and may be given further treatment;

After the desired amount of pulp has been passed throiilgh the troughs, the mercury is removed from the troughs and the gold is then removed therefrom in the usual manner, the mercury being kept for further use. The shaft 4c of the rotary screen is also provided with a pulley 60, which is adapted to be connected with a power source.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a device of the character described, a sheet metal strip bent to provide a series of trough-like units. which are arranged in stepped order, side members which are clamped against the opposite edges of said strip, the bottom or each unit being inclined from its rear end to the point oi": discharge into the succeeding unit, blade springs secured at one end to said side members, cross bars connecting the free ends of opposite blade springs, curved battles connected to said cross bars and extending down beyond the discharge ends of the battles to within a short distance or the bottom of said units, said blade springs being adapted to exert a lifting action on said bullies, means for holding said springs under tension to properly adjust said batlles, means for imparting a longitudinal vibratory motion to said units, and means for continuously supplying ore pulp to the first unit.

2. 111 an amalgamator oi the character described, a sheet metal strip bent to provide a series of trough-like members arranged in stepped order, the bottom of each member being inclined upwards from its rear end to the point or discharge into the next member, side pieces for said trough members and tie rods for clamping said side pieces against the opposite edges of said members, resilient upright supports for said amal amator, ro tary cams for imparting a longitudinal vibratory notion to said amalgamator, and

means for continuously supplying ore pulp to the first member of the amalgamator.

3. In an amalgamator tor the recovery of gold, a sheet metal strip bent to provide a series of trough-like members arranged in stepped order, the bottom oi each member being inclined upward from its rear end and terminating in a curved step which forms the rear end oi the succeeding member, side pieces and tie rods for clamping said side pieces against the opposite sides of said trough members, vertically adjustable baffles supported upon said side pieces in ad vance of the discharge ends of said troughs, vertical resilient supports for said amalgamator, means for imparting a lon itudinal vibratory motion to said amalgamator, said trough members being adapted to be partially filled with mercury, and means for continuously feeding ore pulp to the first member of the amalgamator.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

SILAS A. KNOl VLES. 

